All That Matters
by davis-baker
Summary: "I wish I could have been there for you." He feels her shake her head against his chest. "But if you were there for me, who would be there for Nathan?" BRULIAN talk about what exactly happened following the 9x10 events. Set in 9x11! One Shot!


**A/N – Here's a Brulian oneshot on how a scene where they both tell each other what went down could have happened! Let me know what you all think! :)**

* * *

><p><span>All That Matters<span>

Tonight has been absolutely crazy, but for the first time in the past few days, Brooke finally feels _safe_ when she enters her home late at night. The fear of Xavier just roaming about, the worry for Nathan and whether he'd ever return – all of those anxieties have finally disappeared within the last few hours.

Hearing Julian's voice over the police radio had been enough to make her march right over to the hospital. Seeing him there, stained in blood, had just plagued her with confusion and curiosity, but all of that could wait because Nathan was _okay_. In that moment, clarification, on both of their ends, would have to wait.

Seeing Nathan allowed her to forget the traumatic experience she'd just gone through. Her and Nathan were _both_ survivors tonight. And for Julian, seeing his wife _so happy_ to see her one of her closest friends, who she had at one point doubted seeing again, made him forget that he actually had to take someone's life in the process of rescuing him.

They knew, however, that their talk would have to come later. There would be _no_ excuses.

After spending a little while with Nathan and Haley, they decided to let the two of them be and took off to pick up the twins from the sitter.

"Come on," Julian gently whispers, breaking her out of her temporary trance. "Lets go put our boys to bed."

She nods without words, running a hand over the back of a sleeping Jude's head while Julian carries Davis.

Inside the nursery, just as she's about to nestle a stuffed animal comfortably in Jude's arms, she stops abruptly when she hears a sound. She turns and watches as Julian turns the dial on Davis' mobile above the crib, allowing a soft lullaby to drift into the room. What should be a calm, relaxing song just falls harsh on Brooke's ears. Images of Xavier and her fight to survive flood her mind as the song resonates in the room. That lullaby will _never_ sound the same to her again.

"Please turn that off," she mumbles, noticeably growing paler, feeling tears prick her eyes.

When Julian sees the state of distress she's fallen into, he can only guess it has something to do with the psychopath that no cop believed would eventually attack again. So, instead of questioning her, he obeys and switches the sound off.

She lets out a heavy sigh of relief, freed from the memories…_for now_.

"How about we talk?" Julian suggests, wrapping an arm around his wife and walking her out of the room. While Brooke knows he posed it as a question, she realizes there aren't any options. They both _need_ to talk about what has happened tonight.

Sitting down on the couch, Brooke instantly confesses, "I should have told you." Her voice is low and she feels a bit ashamed.

"Told me what, baby?" he asks gently, concern evident in his voice, as he rubs his hand affectionately on her thigh.

She swallows back tears and shakes her head. "The other night…Xavier…he confronted me by my car after I closed up the café. He…_threatened_ me. But I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to go after him."

Julian closes his eyes, upset that she hadn't come to him with this problem. Brooke is _right_, he _would have_ gone after him. But he would not have _regretted_ it. He _needs_ to protect his family no matter what.

"So…tonight," Brooke is slow to continue. "I thought I was being smart and I decided to park in the garage a block away…but it turned out being stupid…_really stupid_. I should have known he would find out that's where my car was, that he'd follow me…and he did…the lot was empty…and he found me, cornered me…he looked at me and all I saw in his eyes was pure _hatred_. I…I thought I was going to…_die_," she sobs, and Julian immediately wraps her into his arms tightly, clinging to her for dear life.

"If Tara hadn't shown up…I would have," she whispers meekly into his nearly tear-drenched shirt.

"Shhh, shhh, baby, you're okay. You're here. You're alive. You're safe," he reassures as best as he can. But a part of him has his mind elsewhere. How could they have let such an insensitive, violent human being loose like that? What if Tara hadn't shown up? What if Brooke couldn't fight back like she did all those years ago, the first time she confronted him? Just knowing that his wife was that close to death because of Xavier and Tree Hill's stupid justice system is enough to make his blood boil.

"I wish you had told me something was wrong over the phone," he informs her. "I wish I could have saved you. I wish I could have been there for you."

He feels her shake her head against his chest and then she pulls away and wipes at her tears.

"But if you were there for me…who would be there for Nathan?"

His breaths are deep and rigid as he hears her answer. This is true, and he can't help but think how twisted the whole night has been.

"I shouldn't have lied to you over the phone either…" he admits sadly. "I should have been more responsible…I should have told you where I was." Soon enough, he has some of his own tears forming. "I…I had to _kill _somebody, Brooke…" It seems almost unfathomable.

And now it's her turn to fix him when he's broken, just like he _always_ does for her.

She grabs his hands and holds them with hers. "But you saved an innocent life, Julian. You saved _Nathan_." She'll never be able to tell him just how much this really means. She just hopes that one day he'll realize how heroic he's been tonight.

"I know…" he nods slowly. "I know. But," he swallows a lump in his throat. "The thought of _losing you_…I don't know what I'd do..."

"But I'm _here_. _You're_ here. _Our boys_ are here. That's _all_ that matters. We can get past this…because we have each other."

He grabs her into a hug again, kissing her hair and just enjoying being able to hold her in his arms like this.

"I'm _never_ going to let anything happen to our family, Brooke. I promise. We're _all_ going to be _okay_."

* * *

><p><strong>AN – ****So...episode 9x11…yep, I cried (but I think that's a given considering I've been crying for the past few weeks because the show is ending)! Talk about tugging on the heartstrings! The Nathan/Dan scene on the rivercourt had me a wreck…I cannot believe there's only TWO episodes left! But next week looks INCREDIBLE (can't go wrong with a Brulian focused episode) ;) !**

**Anyways, review please! And feel free to drop your opinions on the episode too! :)**

**-Melissa**


End file.
